Olly Murs is a 29 year old, English singer-songwriter.His music genre is Pop and he can also
play the guitar and piano.Olly
Murs started to rise to fame when he was on the sixth series of the show The X
Factor in 2009.He did not win but
was runner-up.He became popular
in the United States with his single, “Trouble Maker,” Song by him and featured Hip Hop artist Flo Rida. His second most popular
song is called “Please Don’t Let Me Go” which hit number one in the UK Singles
Chart.This song received a gold
certification.He has been signed
with Epic Records that is located in the United Kingdom, and Columbia Records
in the United States. He continues to rise to fame.
Here
is a link to two of his song that brought him to fame -> Trouble Maker
For the past two weeks,
I have been promoting small, local musicians (Allies, The Ceremonies) aiming to
hit it big. However, this week, I am doing something different. I present to
you my review of a recent album made by one of the most iconic, well-respected
musicians, Sir Paul McCartney. I don’t think I need to explain who the man is
and what he has done because if you don’t know him, you are have been living
under a rock. The 71-year-old legend released his twenty-fourth studio album,
“New” last week. Paul worked with four producers, Paul Epworth, Mark
Ronson, Ethan Johns, and Giles Martin on the record. In addition, Paul claims the inspiration
behind the record is both recent events in his life and memories of his
pre-Beatle days.
The
album kicks off with the song, “Save Me”, an aggressive, hard rock influence with
distorted guitars. Next, “On The Way To Work”, a Beatles-like tune, contains
lyrics similar to Paul’s lyrics on the Sgt. Pepper album track, “A Day in the
Life”, in which both songs contain Paul’s narrative as a town commuter.
“Queenie Eye”, which has a glam-rock influence, is the most energetic moment on
the record. I can see die-hard fans of this record and audience members at one
of Paul’s future shows doing a huge sing-along to this. The music video for the
song features several famous celebrities such as Johnny Depp, Sean Penn, Meryl
Streep, and Jude Law. “Early Days” is an acoustic track that reflects
McCartney’s nostalgia over his early Beatle days when he was becoming an
accomplished musician and songwriter. The titled track, a catchy tune,
generates sounds similar to those on the Beatle albums Revolver and Sgt.
Pepper, and “Appreciate” has unique vocals and an appealing groove. The
only major setback to the album is “Looking at Her”, which involves Paul’s use
of electronics falling flat. Also, I think “Everybody Out There”, which does
contain almost as much energy as “Queenie Eye”, is more of a tune that should
be played live only, and not recorded in the studio. Finally, the last song
“Road” is a fair indie rock-influenced track that I feel missed its shot on
being more of an “epic” conclusion to the album. However, Paul makes up for his
missed opportunity by presenting a hidden track, a beautiful and emotional
piano ballad, on the last track.
Even though it took me two listens to really
appreciate it, “New” is an enjoyable record. The first half of the album was an
excellent effort; the end of the album was good enough despite a few setbacks.
I applaud Paul for his effort for creating new, consistent material after completing
such a long list of material on his discography and all the success he has
achieved. He may be over age 70, but his motivation and energy is still there in the
studio and on stage.
Joey
Bada$$ is a new hip-hop artists that is coming to the scene.He is 17 years old who is from
Brooklyn.He is a member of the
hip-hop collective Pro Era, were he has made two mix tapes.His first mix tape was called, “1999” and
was released in June 2012. His second mix tape was called “Rejex” and released in
September 2012.
Joey
Bada$$ really stuck out through his confidence in his flow of old school
hip-hop.His appreciation for that
type of music was shown in the industry.
As
of Now Joey Bada$$ is working in the studios to release his new album “B4.Da.$$
in 2014.
The Ceremonies’ Website: http://theceremonies.tumblr.com/
Today, it seems that people who turn on the radio may
find the same artists that produce the same generic, stale sound. However, if
listeners want to discover new artists that have creative or unique sounds,
they can go to other music sources, such as iTunes, Pandora, blogs, or Youtube,
and do a bit of research. One example of a new artist with a fresh, unique
sound is The Ceremonies. The Ceremonies consist of three brothers from Los
Angeles, California who produce a unique indie-rock sound. Matthew Cook writes
the music and plays all the instruments on the recordings, and all three
members play various instruments live on stage. Matthew also writes the lyrics,
and his writing is influenced by British futurist writer Aldous Huxley and
romantic poets William Blake and William Wordsworth. The band name came about
when the Cooks repeatedly saw the word “ceremonies” while reading through their
favorite novels and poems for inspiration to write music. The band was
recognized by Troy Carter, the manager of Lady Gaga, who signed the group to
his management company, Atom Factory.
On
October 8, 2013, The Ceremonies released their self-titled EP, which can be
found on music programs like iTunes and Spotify. The band described the EP as
more of an “all-around sensory experience, as opposed to just a collection of songs”
(Stern). There are a variety of instruments on the record, such as guitar,
drums, flute, bass guitar, trumpets, keyboards, and the xylophone. The album has
received very positive reviews from iTunes users, and after listening to the
EP, I can understand why. My overall reaction to this EP is that this isn’t
music, but an experience. While listening to the songs “Ballroom Bones” and
“Nightfall”, I sometimes imagined traveling through outer space, and other
times I imagined watching a meteor shower. The lead single on the album, “Land
of Gathering”, makes a great use of the synthesizer and trumpets. The vocals
and harmonies are so well-done that it would put famous pop and rock vocalists
to shame. In addition, some sounds on the EP reminded me of artists like U2, Of
Monsters and Men, Arcade Fire, and MGMT. Michael Cook claims that the main
influence for this EP was nostalgia, but as long as listeners can relate to the
songs somehow, that’s all that matters to him.
Though
The Ceremonies will most likely not be played on mainstream radio, this group
puts my hope and faith back into music again. The group has talented
songwriting skills, outstanding vocals and harmonies, and a talent for playing
a variety of instruments. I highly recommend this band for music lovers. Buy
this EP and support the band now!
Written by: John Dirscherl
Works Cited for the Blog:
"About The
Ceremonies." MTV Artists. MTV, n.d. Web. 16 Oct. 2013.
Emblem3 is a reggae/pop rock boy
rock band. The band consist of two brothers, Wesley and Keaton Stromberg, and
their friend Drew Chadwick. They established
their band in Washington in 2007.They moved to Hunting Beach, California to pursue their career where
they soon went on to the second season of the show the X Factor USA.They made it to Fourth place on the show but then signed with Simon
Cowell’s record label Syco Records and Columbia Records.
Their
first single was this song called (You’re the One I Want).” And was released on
April 15th, 2013.The
song is very catchy and fun.Very
much in the pop genre.This song
is sure to get you hooked on the rest of Emblem3’s music. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWaFP0yFhNgß
Here is the link to there first single.
“The concept of Allies is really just to coexist with everyone and come together.”
Joe Villafane – piano, keyboards, vocals
Ryan Higbie – guitars, vocals
Alex Kaufman – drums, percussion
Sean Banicki – bass guitar
Allies is an
epic rock group, consisting of four small-town young men from Long Island, New
York, working and aiming to hit it big. Even though they may be considered a
“rock” group, they cross many boundaries with the music they create. Their
songs are inspired by a variety of genres such as alternative rock, hip-hop,
soul, Motown, funk, and R&B. One fan or “ally” claims the band’s sound
combines hip-hop and Pink Floyd, and another claims the band’s music sounds
similar to Radiohead, Incubus, and Rage Against The Machine. The lead vocalist,
Joe Villafane, has a voice that resembles Justin Timberlake and Anthony Kiedis (lead singer of Red Hot Chili Peppers).
The band is one big team effort; if one falls, the rest fall. The band relies
on each member to help bring the energy, inspiration, and excitement to write
and construct songs. Every member has a contribution; for example, Joe will
bring in melody and lyrical ideas, Alex will give each song its groove, and
Sean will write the verse structures.While not recording, the band plays shows at many Long Island venues;
one in particular is the popular concert hall, The Paramount, in Huntington,
NY, where many big artists play.
In
addition, Allies may be just a band name, but it has several meanings behind
what these musicians are trying to accomplish. Villafane claims the band is
promoting a concept with the name “Allies”. He had this to say:
"Anyone can really be an ally in this day-and-age where so many people are cruel to one another. The concept of Allies is really just to coexist with everyone and come together."
In other words, the whole concept of Allies is unity.
Referring to all of humanity, we coexist together no matter if we are different
or if we agree or disagree with each other. Villafane also states the band is
called Allies because of their close connections with a variety of people;
therefore, they have made “allies”. The band is looking forward to making new
“allies” outside of New York in the future.
Allies is working
on their first record entitled “The Lobby”, a concept album. The universal
concept behind the album deals with life transitions and outlook on the future.
This concept started from the feelings the band members felt as they were
seeing friends move away, beginning new life experiences, while the band members
were at home waiting for the opportunity to go off and start their new
experiences together. The “lobby” refers to the place where people wait for
something and watch people go and arrive, and the outside of the “lobby”
describes the outside world.
Pat “SoLo” Jamieson is a very talented up and coming artist who just turned 22 years old. He has been making music since his freshman year of high school. His focus is on making Pop-Rap music.
He has opened for famous artist like ASAP Rocky, Jake Miller, D Pryde, Huey Mack and many others. He has many fans already and has over a million views on his YouTube channel. As of right now he is writing songs with Jared Cotter who has wrote well known songs like Where Them Girls at by Florida and the song Down by Jay Sean. His motto as always has been to “Always use real life as inspiration.”
The Video Pat "SoLo" Jamieson- Almost There is one of Pat "SoLo" Jamieson's favorite songs because he says, "I like that song because I'm not there yet but it's been a long journey and were getting there."
Tyler here, and for my first post I would like to discuss the new album by the band A Day to Remember called Common Courtesy. Released only a few hours ago, this album is completely new, with only one song off of it released prior to today. If you like bands such as Rise Against, Four Year Strong, or Escape the Fate you will like this band and album as well.
For those of you who do not know who ADTR are, they are a band in the post-hardcore genre and are one of the first bands to blend hardcore and pop-punk together to generate their unique sound. Post-hardcore is music that originated from hard rock and heavy metal genres and involves both scream vocals, as well as clean vocals, and usually uses harmonies of the two to great effect. Front man Jeremy McKinnon is able to sing both styles quite well, and has the other members back him up. As for the instruments, the genre incorporates all the usual rock instruments such as guitars, a bass, and drums relying heavily on the bass pedal of the drummer which is noticeable in most post-hardcore bands, ADTR especially. Now that you have a brief introduction to post-hardcore music, I will discuss the album itself in more detail
Common Courtesy is ADTR's 5th studio album. The album has a huge metal influence, much like their earlier work, and is one of their heaviest albums. They like to keep a wide array of style on their albums, and the same goes for this album. There is a couple tracks such as "I Surrender" that has a very pop-like sound to it in conjunction with their obvious hardcore influence. There is also an acoustic song on the album titled "End of Me" and which is one of the slowest songs they have written to date, but still has that ADTR feel to it. Other than those few, the rest of the album is extremely heavy. Most of these songs are about growing up in Ocala, CA., animosity with their recording company, feelings such as helplessness, and anger towards the violence that goes on in the world. A song that represents these feeling the most is "Violence (Enough is Enough)." This is one of the hardest songs they have ever written and rocks very hard. You can listen to it if you follow this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6lanUBSwlo A personal favorite of mine is "Right Back at it Again" which is more pop-punk with a touch of hardcore. You can listen to that as well at the following link. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXXnDBeg-ZQ That's all for me tonight folks. I hope I have successfully introduced you to an album and band you can enjoy! If so the band is currently on tour and is selling this new album. You can find all this information and more at the band's official site at the following link. http://www.adtr.com/ Goodnight all, and rock on!
JJT: Music On The Spot is:
Jess Noren
John Dirscherl
Tyler Rollman
The purpose of our blog is to introduce both new musical artists and the new material of current artists. This idea was created when students in our EGL 311 class were divided into groups to complete a class project. For the project, each group is writing a blog on a particular topic. Our group decided to use music as our main topic after Tyler came up with the idea of introducing up and coming artists in our blog. Our blog will have photos and brief summaries discussing a new artist or an artist's new material.
If you want to broaden your horizons or find new music similar to what you like, look no further! We will do our best to offer a wide variety of music for your entertainment. Also, if you are a musician wanting to put yourself out there, email us at JessJohnTyler@gmail.com and give us a sample of what you want to be posted.
